Why is rear bench leg room always compromised ?

This is a discussion on Why is rear bench leg room always compromised ? within The Indian Car Scene, part of the BHP India category; Hi Friends,
Since I bought my Fiesta and realised that it's rear bench leg room is not as good as ...

Since I bought my Fiesta and realised that it's rear bench leg room is not as good as my Ikon's I made a habit to check it in every car i travel. To my surprise I found out that almost all the cars including sedans and so called premium hatchbacks , they all have compramised the rea le space. Only TATAs have really paid lot of attention and even thei nano has a better leg room than bigger cars such as Maruti A-Star , Hyundai Verna etc. Why the car amnufacturers don't get this right ? why such a basic thing is sold at premium. This aprticularly does not correlate to outer dimiesions of the car. The indica has better space that my fiesta ? isn't it sad friends ? surprisingly still such cars do good nos. in the market

The importance of rear space (leg room, head room, shoulder room) is important to India and to Indians as most Indians prefer to be driven than to drive, with reference to car owners in the established car markets of EU, US, Japan, Canada, Australia etc., where most owners use the rear seats for groceries or for seating children.

India's social structure implies that a car is used by the entire family rather than by an individual alone.

Most overseas manufacturers go through a learning curve trying to understand "Indian" consumer requirements and the driving environment, which are very different from their environment, back home. Additionally, there is a tradition of manufacturing cars for specific requirements ( viz. a hatcback, coupe, sports car, GT, estate, SUV) in the west, whereas in India, a car is expected to be an allrounder, combining many capabilities.

However, most manufacturers have understood these requirements and you do have cars with adequate rear space.The Tatas being "Indian" ( it is a misnomer as Tata Motors is an international manufacturer now), have stressed on seating space and comfort, probably more than other manufacturers.

The issue of rear space is far less in C and higher segment cars though.

The importance of rear space (leg room, head room, shoulder room) is important to India and to Indians as most Indians prefer to be driven than to drive, with reference to car owners in the established car markets of EU, US, Japan, Canada, Australia etc., where most owners use the rear seats for groceries or for seating children.

India's social structure implies that a car is used by the entire family rather than by an individual alone.

Most overseas manufacturers go through a learning curve trying to understand "Indian" consumer requirements and the driving environment, which are very different from their environment, back home. Additionally, there is a tradition of manufacturing cars for specific requirements ( viz. a hatcback, coupe, sports car, GT, estate, SUV) in the west, whereas in India, a car is expected to be an allrounder, combining many capabilities.

However, most manufacturers have understood these requirements and you do have cars with adequate rear space.The Tatas being "Indian" ( it is a misnomer as Tata Motors is an international manufacturer now), have stressed on seating space and comfort, probably more than other manufacturers.

The issue of rear space is far less in C and higher segment cars though.

Regards, drive safe

Agree completely with all the points. Those products made for foregin markets are orinted more towards the driver and less towards the rear seat passengers (esp. if they are small cars).
Case in point: the VW Polo, which was voted European Car of the Year this year, and yes, its rear seat space is not very good given its external dimesions (almost 4m in length). Just as a comparison:

Good point there issigonis. Also, abroad, a family normally have multiple cars. You know, Dad's car, Mom's car etc etc...

I always feel that rear seat legroom is dependent on the wheelbase of the car & how effeciently the interior space is utilized. Honestly, I never understood why most cars have such huge dashboards! If the dash is not so deep, you can effectively increase the interior room. Just my thought.

I have an SX4 & I felt that the dashboard is unnecessarily bulky/deep & uses more space. However, since it is high, the front passenger can easily move the seat more towards the front making more space at the back. I sat in the ANHC (front passenger) & there, the dash is very low. I had to move my seat much further back to prevent my knees from pushing into the dash reducing rear legroom.

Rear leg space is very important in Indian market. Indians love to travel with all family together. So rear leg room is very Imp. Tata provide best leg room. When i saw the Manza i was jealous of it My Dzire dont have that much space. Rear leg room in Manza is better than many 10-20 Lacs cars.

Some cars are not doing well in India because of there cramped rear space like Astar, Beat. Indians love rear leg space & good boot space to carry all the luggage.

Agree with all the points! Usually hatchbacks are used at the max by two people sitting in the front in other places.
For us, its a family car. You still have to adjust between boot and rear leg space.

So that means the Nano has more space (at least by statistics) as compared to the Polo.

Really shocking comparison. I particularly look for the rear legroom when scouting for a new car. It is for this reason, the likes of polo, punto and even the i20 moves out of the radar. In that respect the TATAs are the best; designed with the indian mindset. It is increasingly felt that the new mantra is "If you want rear leg space and boot space together, go for a sedan. Hatchback is not for you". Sad right?

Car makers probably trust the judgement that most people who own a hatchback usually do not have a chauffeur, hence they sit less at the rear. Once you move up the income level, the chauffeur comes in then so does the sedan with better leg room.

Hi Friends,
The indica has better space that my fiesta ? isn't it sad friends ? surprisingly still such cars do good nos. in the market
regards
Amol

Hi Amol,

To a certain extent I can agree the rear leg room issue with Fiesta but only when you compare with the Tata Manza and not with any hatch. Otherwise I find it spacious enough amongst its segment. I am almost 6' tall and my father is around 5'9" and he sits comfortably at the back even after I have adjusted the driver's seat.

In a hatch if the leg room is increased the boot space has to be lesser. Although this does not dilute the discussion as to why the car manufacturers provide meagre leg space at the rear.
1)Maybe to keep the overall size within the tax rebates structure.
2)Maybe to accomodate additional accessories/gizmos at the same price.

I am planning to buy a car and have tested almost every sedan in the 9-15Lac mark and i have to say Manza with its HUGE rear space out shines almost all cars only Corolla comes close to the rear space exhibited by Manza.

The problem is that Indian consumer is very different from the typical European one, the evidence is that in India Porsche sells more of Panamera and Cayenne than other real iconic cars such as the 911.

The Cruze is one of those cars that have tried to improve space at back but failed the angle the seat is put at is very uncomfortable and it does not help the whole lack of space.

Maruti could and should have helped this situation the A-star is indigenous in design and could have added a bit to the rear space but who knows why they did not. Maruti should step up or else a Diesel Nano with NCAP rating will woop Alto's arse.

The Figo is a very good example of space optimization. It seems to have hit the sweet spot w.r.t. wheelbase, rear seat and boot space. It is also quite compact (at 3795 mm). Having been designed for the Indian market, it has got interior space at the top of its priority list.

Of course, the Honda Jazz remains the best by far, with the sheer brilliance of its space packaging. However, the pricing moves it into sedan territory which seems to support the theory that most manufacturers believe that customers looking for good boot + rear seat space come from higher income groups.

nano has better leg room than most of the bigger cars , if TATA knows this is imporatnt then why not others ? they all claim to make cars specially deisgned for india then what makes them ignore this imp. fact. seating with short leg room is very painful for anything more than a 2 hours drive.

regards
amol

Quote:

Originally Posted by avi550m

Agree completely with all the points. Those products made for foregin markets are orinted more towards the driver and less towards the rear seat passengers (esp. if they are small cars).
Case in point: the VW Polo, which was voted European Car of the Year this year, and yes, its rear seat space is not very good given its external dimesions (almost 4m in length). Just as a comparison:

Thanks for all comments but still fact remains that all the manufacturers are not paying enough attention to this fact that the leg room is very very important. They must understand that the rear leg room is absoulutely imporant if they are making a 5 seater car. If the car has a capacity for 4 adults then it should do it well right ? most of the cars having capacity of 5 can just accomodate 4 well. i htink TATA's have picked this well and they do not have a single model with lesser leg room. I feel very guilty when my parents sit at the back with compromised space and i am enjoying the superb drive feel the fiesta offers. The worst thing is that we are all together only when we are on highways for our occassional trips i.e. most certainly for more than at least 3 hours. Wish there was some statutory guidline for space :-)

regards
Amol

Quote:

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

With nuclear families and average user driving the car alone to work/back, use for rear seats is occasional. That may be one of reasons for design choice.

Maruti could and should have helped this situation the A-star is indigenous in design and could have added a bit to the rear space but who knows why they did not. Maruti should step up or else a Diesel Nano with NCAP rating will woop Alto's arse.

Maruti may not be listening! Indian sales form a major portion of their international sales. But indian consumer interests? Who cares. Bring anything made for Japan and Europe and put into the omnipresent distribution-service network. Some of them will click (read swift). The others will carry huge discounts (read astar).

It is very pathetic to see the poor leg room and reduced boot space in the forthcoming Gen 2 swift!. How the Indian customer can be ignored when India is the biggest market for Suzuki Swift! We need to wait and see how the Indian customer reacts when the new swift meets Honda Brio and Toyota Etios in 2011.